Caroline Howe |
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| Humans are a key factor in any conservation strategy and I am interested in how their needs can be successfully integrated into conservation planning in order to achieve effective conservation. I am particularly concerned with the relationship between environmental conservation and sustainable development and how the use of interventions, such as environmental education, may be used to facilitate the successful integration of these two fields. I am also keen to investigate how links between conservation research and policy implementation may be developed and strengthened in order to achieve efficient conservation action on the ground. | ||
| Current research | ||
The UN has declared 2005 to 2014 the “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development”. There are however, few empirical studies on the costs and benefits of different forms of education within the fields of environmental conservation and sustainable development. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive, quantitative and critical assessment of the role of education in order to determine how educational policies may be implemented in the most cost-effective manner to aid the integration of environmental conservation and sustainable development strategies. My research uses a combination of questionnaire –based attitudinal surveys, meta-analysis, statistical modelling and cost-benefit analysis techniques to investigate the effectiveness of environmental education. Using a meta-analysis of the DEFRA funded, Darwin Initiative project database, in combination with an in-country case study, on Saiga Antelope conservation in Russia (part of a Darwin Initiative Post-Project), I am exploring the effects of environmental education on knowledge and awareness, and it’s contribution to an environmental project’s success. Using cost-benefit analysis techniques, I aim to combine this greater understanding of the effects of environmental education, with an economic grounding, in order to provide guidance for cost-effective implementation of environmental education. This research is supervised by Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland (Division of Biology, Imperial College London) and Professor Jaboury Ghazoul (Swiss Federal Institute of Zoology (ETH, Zurich) and funded by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The work is also supported by the Darwin Initiative, DEFRA. |
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| Presentations and Seminars | ||
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| Publications | ||
| Reconciling protected area management and sustainable development: A study of the socio-economic and wild-food use of the local communities of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Indian Himalayas. MSc Thesis, Imperial College London, 2005 (pdf) | ||
| Brief CV | ||
• 2005-2008: PhD in Conservation Science at Imperial College London • 2008: Researcher for the Seychelles Plant Conservation Research Agenda 2008-2015 • 2008: ESRC funded overseas institutional visit to ETH, Zurich • 2004-2005: MSc in Environmental Technology at Imperial College London • 2001-2004: BA in Natural Sciences (Zoology) at University of Cambridge |
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